Changes and solutions to improve humanitarian aid

• Main Author: Nelson, Eisha Amanda
• Language: EN
• Published: Webster University 2015
• Subjects: Social work|Political science|International law
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1526651

<p> The 1990s saw a rise in the participation of NGOs answering the demands of affected populations caught in between armed conflicts, bouts of natural disasters and diseases. Though their intentions were good, it was from this point onwards NGOs have gained their notoriety, despite the work they do to address the needs of man. With a consistent rise of the number of actively participating NGOs, these humanitarian actors have since gone under scrutiny by the general population, which range from ineffective operations, scandals surrounding aid money, ethics within humanitarianism as well as many aid organizations that still remain independent from each other.</p><p> This paper will seek to answer how to improve the role of humanitarian aid in emergency situations, and address its issues and shortcomings. This will be done by analyzing the different criticisms faced by these humanitarian actors, as well as analyzing the different solutions that have since been proposed in order to answer these criticisms and find a new way for these organizations to operate and define themselves. Finally, these analyses will be evaluated and compared among one another.</p><p> Interviews have been held with aid workers and members of humanitarian organizations, in order to get a more intimate perspective of the inside workings of an NGO. Recent literature, studies and findings have also been utilized in order to get a clearer picture of the current state of humanitarian aid, notably from writers such as Thomas Weiss, Hugo Slim, David Rieff and Linda Polman.</p><p> Humanitarian aid cannot be cured with a simple solution; instead, it is an ongoing, gradual process that requires cooperation from governments and organizations in order to move forward. The non-protit sector can stand to learn a lot from the for-profit sector, especially in terms of professionalism and collaborating amongst one another. This change will not come easily, but humanitarian aid also cannot remain stagnant if they hope to reach out to populations in need with quality aid.</p>